In regard to David Wilcox's
"Adam Where Are You? Changing Paradigms in Paleoanthropology" (PSCF48:2, June 1996, 88-96), I would like to suggest that more recent data has
changed many of the factual statements made in the article.

The article begins with the
statement that paleoanthropology is in a state of crisis. The reference
supporting this statement discusses the Out-of-Africa view vs. the Multiregional
Model of human origins.1 I was unable to find the
word "crisis" or a synonym anywhere in the article. The authors
certainly do not give any indications that paleoanthropology is in trouble. They
simply attack the Multiregional Model.

Wilcox (p. 89) states that
Neanderthal had "questionable phonetic ability". This was based on the
work of Phillip Lieberman.2 Lieberman claimed that
the Neanderthal vocal tract was different from modern human vocal tracts
preventing the formation of vowels. Lieberman's work predicted that the
Neanderthal hyoid bone when eventually found would be radically different. This
was disproved by the 1990 discovery of a complete Neanderthal hyoid bone, the
first hominid hyoid (Adam's apple) ever found, which is identical to those in
modern humans.3

Wilcox (p. 90) claims that
Neanderthal is the ancestor of modern humans and claims that modern humans
appeared first. Neither statement is correct. It has been many years since the
prevailing belief was that Neanderthal was the direct linear ancestor of
anatomically modern humans. Anatomically modern humans first appear in deposits
dated 130,000 years B.P.4 and Neanderthals first
appear at Erhingsdorf, Germany and the remains are dated to 230,000 years
ago.5

Wilcox states (p. 92) that the
Mousterian culture arose around 100,000 years ago. The oldest Mousterian culture
is dated to 250,000 years ago, very close to the first appearance of
Neanderthals.6

The statement is made (p. 91) that
there is no evidence of culture among Homo erectus. Among the earliest Homo
erectus sites are found chunks of red ochre, a material with no known stone
age use except body painting.7 Microscopic
examination of the edges of the stone tools of Homo erectus reveals wear
patterns consistent with wood working and leather
working.8 Body painting and wood and leather
working strongly imply a being with a culture.

The author (p. 93) compares the tool
making ability of Neanderthals with that of Kanzi the chimp who has been taught
to make stone tools. Neanderthals are called imitators but "not creative
inventors." This comparison is quite flawed as the teachers of Kanzi note:
"Moreover, Kanzi's progress so far as a tool maker suggests to us that
early Oldowan hominids may exhibit a much greater cognitive understanding of the
principles and mechanics of tool making than modern apes seem to be able to
develop."9 Neanderthal tools were much more
complex than Oldowan tools which appear in rocks dated 2.4 million years ago.

The claim is made that there is no
evidence of art among the Neanderthals (p. 92). Admittedly, the amount of art is
small by comparison with the Magdalenian culture, but to say that there is none
is wrong. Pendants made of reindeer phalanx and fox canine have been found in
deposits dated at 50,000 years B.P.10 Coloring
pencils, made from minerals, have been found at many sites. It is not known what
these pencils were coloring but they appear to have been artist tools. A fossil
nummulite was found at Tata, Hungary, with a cross inscribed on
it.11 This came out after the Wilcox paper went to
press, but the cover photo on the May 16, 1996 Nature shows a Neanderthal
necklace which was either made or traded for by the
Neanderthal.12

The anatomically modern people who
constituted the Azilian culture (ca. 12,500-9,500) produced art no more
spectacular than pebbles with lines, crosses, and dots on
them.13 If Neanderthal is to be excluded from
humanity for only having simple art, then so should the Azilians.

References

1C. B. Stringer and P. Andrews, "Genetic and
Fossil Evidence for the Origin of Modern Humans," Science 239
(1988): 1263-1268.